                Teleconferencing systems allow virtual meetings among two or more remotely located participants to take place using public switched telephone networks (PSTN) or data networks. Data networks can include local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), the Internet, etc. A simple teleconference may involve audio conferencing in which the participants share a speakerphone over one or more of the aforementioned networks. In addition to the audio capabilities, a more sophisticated teleconference may involve videoconferencing in which participants can see images of one another during the conference.        
Videoconferencing typically utilizes non-secure data lines for routing communications data among the participants. Accordingly, due to the inherently unsecured nature of the typical network connections, if users need to communicate sensitive or classified data, special arrangements have to be made before the secured videoconferencing can take place. For example, in the United States (U.S.), the U.S. Department of Defense's Communication Security (COMSEC) and Electro-Magnetic Security (EMSEC) guidance and policy requirements for providing secure and non-secure applications require secure videoconferencing when communicating highly sensitive national security data.
Secure conferencing system installations, however, are traditionally labor intensive and require a site-survey and design by specialized secure integration engineers. In addition, the installations are usually designed with little consideration for ease of use. Frequently, a full time on-site technician is needed to complete the numerous “patches” and rerouting to transition between secure and non-secure connections. Thus, there is a need for a videoconferencing system (VTC) that enables users to perform videoconferencing in a secure and non-secure environment while maintaining features such as on-screen dialing for ease of use.